The obnoxious car precious metals-plating cold war between Russian mobsters and oligarchs and Middle Eastern oil sheiks has jumped to the next level. Chromed cars are now passé, with one Russian stepping up his game with a gold-plated BMW M5. Naturally, it also has a chrome racing stripe.

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Sorry European footballers, you missed the boat, your chromed cars are now as fashionable as the macarena and trucker hats. Gold-plating is now the mark to hit, and if you can manage a chrome (platinum!) stripe, all the better.

Considering this particular example is but a mere BMW M5, there's quite a lot of room to move up the ridiculously expensive supercar ladder of gold-plating. We salute you, probable Russian gangster, for showing the world how it's done. [English Russia (where else?!)]